Young artists bring Balinese culture to Japan

Young artists bring Balinese culture to Japan

Ayuningati, Contributor, Tokyo, Japan

That day, more than 100 Japanese children flocked to the beautiful Children's Palace, Kodomo no Shiro, in the chilly Oayo district of Tokyo. They all came to watch a painting exhibition and cultural performance by young Balinese artists.

Some of the children, aged between eight and 10 years old, came to the palace escorted by their parents while others came along with their friends.

For the occasion, the palace was beautifully decorated with some 50 paintings by Balinese children displayed on the palace's walls and corridors. Two young painters -- Chandradewi and Pradnyaasih, both 10 years old -- from the Rare Angon foundation in Denpasar, Bali were the stars of the event.

The exhibition and performances along with workshops and other cultural activities were part of a Bali-Japan cultural exchange program, aimed at strengthening the two countries' relationship in the field of arts and culture. The program, held from Dec. 13 to Dec. 23, was initiated by the Denpasar-based Rare Angon and Arti Foundation together with their partners TechniArt in Japan. Among the 18 participating artists were Kadek Suardana, Mas Rucitadewi and Made Ratni.

The Rare Angon foundation has been fostering children's activities like painting, drawing, poetry reading, music and dance for elementary school students in Bali. For the exhibition in Japan, the 50 painting on display were selected from the works of more than 100 elementary school students in Denpasar.

The traditional bamboo orchestra angklung started the event and was immediately followed by a series of dance performances by Pradnyaasih and Chandradewi, who were accompanied by two other dancers, Suwitra Buawana and Made Oka from the Arti Foundation.

"Everybody here is amazed by the paintings and performances by these talented Balinese artists," emcee Mariko said.

The displayed paintings portray charming and happy faces, traditional Balinese life and nature through the eyes of children.

"We could really feel the Balinese atmosphere and emotion through the exhibition and dance performances," Mariko added.

In each cultural show, a number of Japanese musicians had joined the young artists. The musicians had been in Bali for several months to study gamelan traditional Balinese orchestra.

"Thank God, we have so many friends here in Japan. To perform a Gong Kebyar dance, we need many gamelan players. With their (the Japanese musicians) presence here, we only needed a short time for musical adjustment," said Mas Rucitadewi of the Rare Angon foundation.

Apart from holding cultural performances, Pradnyaasih and Chandradewi also visited local schools there, Setagayaku and Dizumi elementary schools in downtown Tokyo.

"I was so surprised that all the teachers and children here knew a lot about Bali," Mas Rucitadewi said. She added that during the visits, both teachers and children enthusiastically shared their experiences and knowledge about Bali and Indonesia.

At the schools, the two young Balinese artists also performed some traditional dances, while the Japanese students taught their Balinese friends how to make cute origami, Japanese traditional paper work. And despite strong cultural and language barriers, the children mingled easily with each other.

In Tokyo, artists from Arti foundation also gave a gamelan workshop for the Japanese students. With great curiosity, the Japanese kids had their hands on every instrument.

The Balinese troupe also performed at Tokyo FM hall, displaying the paintings there while staging a three-hour dance performance.

First, the troupe staged Ritus Lengong dance and then Pradnyaasih and Chandradewi performed the Sanghyang dance.

Ritus Legong tells about life of Balinese farmers. Feeling happy after a good harvest, they forget to worship Dewi Sri, the goddess of fertility. As a result, the farmers suffer from bad luck with a devilish creature rangda arriving in the village. Realizing their mistake, the farmers invoke the spirit of the goddess in the form of Sanghyang Legong.

Following Ritus Legong, the Balinese artists also presented a number of traditional and contemporary dances like Calon Arang, Oleg, Old Mask and Margapati, while their Japanese counterparts also presented a number of Japanese contemporary dances.

The majority of the viewers adored those dances, but those who were already familiar with the Balinese arts and culture said they preferred the Ritus Legong.

"I am very fond of Ritus Legong. The dance is steeped in Balinese mysticism," said Maiko Nakano, a graduate student of anthropology.

She said the Japanese audience also wished to view Balinese contemporary dances. "We have already seen so many traditional and classical dances presented by traditional dance groups from Bali," Maiko said.

Mas Rucitadewi expressed satisfaction with the warm response the troupe received, and said that she hoped the exchange visit would benefit both the Balinese and Japanese children and artists.

"I think this will help improve the image of Bali and Indonesia in general, which has been marred in the eyes of the international community because of the recent Bali bombing," she said.